Concordia Open Science Working Group
Open science/scholarship is the practice of making all research processes and outcomes freely available and accessible to everyone, eliminating barriers to knowledge. It encompasses a wide range of practices, including open access, open data, open labs, open notebooks, open evaluation, open hardware, open-source software, and citizen science, among others. Importantly, open science/scholarship extends beyond the natural sciences, including fields like the humanities, social sciences, business studies, and fine arts, making it a truly inclusive movement for advancing knowledge across all disciplines.
The Concordia Open Science Working Group, established in September 2022, is a dynamic and rapidly growing initiative born from the successful Open Science @ Concordia conference. Bringing together over 20 faculty members, trainees, and students across eight units—Psychology, Computer Science and Software Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biology, Engineering, Education, Communication Studies, and the Library—the group works to accelerate the adoption of open science/scholarship practices, support practitioners, analyze provincial, national, and international policies, and engage with fellow open science/scholarship advocates to promote collaboration. Through a series of workshops, members of the working group co-authored a report with actionable recommendations to advance open science/scholarship. This report, published on Spectrum in April 2023, was broadly discussed with the administration and other members of the Concordia community.
Co-led by Dr. Nicolás Alessandroni, a postdoctoral fellow, and Dr. Krista Byers-Heinlein, a professor in the Psychology Department and Concordia University Research Chair in Bilingualism and Open Science, the group is actively shaping the future of open science/scholarship across disciplines.
The group is always open to new members joining. For more information about the Open Science Working Group, or to express interest in joining, you can contact nicolas.alessandroni@concordia.ca.
- Evaluating Excellence: Academic Assessment and the Open Science Transition. A video recording of a talk where Dr. Kelly Cobey explores the relationship between reforming academic assessment and supporting open science. Nicolás Alessandroni, co-lead of the Open Science Working Group, participated as a discussant. This talk was part of the “Evaluating Excellence: Rethinking Academic Assessment” speaker series co-sponsored by the OVPRGS and the Provost’s Office, Concordia University (February 2024).
- Catalyzing Open Science. Charting the Path Forward at Concordia University. A video recording of the event, organized by members of the Open Science Working Group as part of Open Access Week 2023 (October 2023).
- Institutional Change toward Open Scholarship and Open Science. A blog entry by Joshua Chalifour, member of the working group and Digital Scholarship Librarian and Journalism and Communication Studies Librarian at Concordia University. The entry reflects on the challenges of promoting open scholarship within institutions, highlighting the efforts of the Concordia Open Science Working Group (August 2023).
- Recommendations to Foster Open Science at Concordia University. A report authored by Open Science Working Group members to spur open science at Concordia (April 2023).
- Ten Strategies to Foster Open Science in Psychology and Beyond. A paper authored by Nicolás Alessandroni and Krista Byers-Heinlein, Open Science Working Group co-leads, introducing ten concrete strategies that can help researchers use and disseminate open science. Published in Collabra: Psychology (December 2022).
- Open Science @ Concordia conference (May 2022).